Slowly Losing Hope
by thesunshineisdead
Summary: Clint and Darcy get kidnapped.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Clint came roaring back into wakefulness. It took him a few seconds to realize what had woken him up. Darcy was curled up next to him in bed shaking and whimpering. This happened at least four times a week ever since those three dreadful days six months ago.

"Darcy", Clint said trying to get her to wake up. He knew better than to try to wake her up by touching her after the first disastrous time he did. He had ended up with a fat lip. She still hadn't woken up.

"Darcy, come on sweetheart. Wake up."

She finally opened her eyes but he could tell she wasn't really awake- he could see the fear and terror in her eyes like he had all those months ago. "Darcy, please wake up." He could see that she had finally waked up; she gasped and flew upright in the bed looking around the room. Once she realized she was still in their room she looked over at him. He could see she still had fear in her eyes but it wasn't as bad as when she had been sleeping.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's alright sweetheart. C'mere."

He pulled her back down in the bed hoping him being there would help take the fear away but knowing it would never completely go away. She curled into his side with her laying her head right over his heart listening to it beat. He ran his hand through her hair hoping it would help calm her down. "You want to talk about it", he asked.

"Not really. Plus it's not like it's really anything new."

"If you need to talk about it, you know you can."

She raised her head looking at him in the eyes. "No really? I had absolutely no idea I could", she replied sarcastically. He smiled at her and gently pulled on her hair. "Stop being a smart ass."

She smirked at him. "I'll see what I can do hotshot."

"That's all I ask. Now why don't we try to get some more sleep?" He watched as more of the fear came back into her eyes. "It'll be alright sweetheart", he said. He cupped her face and gently kissed her. When they finally separated she curled back into his side throwing her arm over his waist and laying her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around and laced their fingers together with his other hand and the one she had around his waist hoping it would ground her and prevent any more nightmares that night.

He knew that was a longshot but it never hurt to hope. He could tell the second she fell asleep as her breathing evened out and she completely relaxed. Letting out a giant sigh, he looked down at her sleeping wishing he could stop the nightmares that plagued her nights and knew that he couldn't. He frequently had nightmares about the same event that happened six months ago as she did. Clint had never in his life felt as helpless as he had then. For three whole days it had gone on. They were filled with horror, despair, and no hope as him and Darcy had waited to be rescued by his teammates.

By the time they had gotten there, he thought that he had lost Darcy forever but Tony had informed him that she was still alive. She had been barely hanging on. The doctors had said that if they hadn't gotten her out of there any sooner she would have been gone.

The thought of losing her filled him with despair. If he had lost her, he didn't think he would have been able to go on. Just thinking about it made him tighten his grip around her as she slept. He had promised himself the day she had finally woken up and they knew she was going to make it through for sure, that he would never let anything like that happen to her again.

He had started following her around after she had been cleared to go back to work with Jane. He would crawl through the air ducts and watch her and when he couldn't, he would enlist the help of his teammates to watch her. That was usually easy when she was in the lab because Tony and Bruce would be in the lab with her and Jane anyways. When she was out and about was a little harder but they had found a way.

Steve or Thor would ask to come along with her when she was going to out by herself. Tasha would usually just follow her without her knowledge. She eventually caught on and had told everybody that she didn't need a babysitter. Finally after arguing about it for two days they had compromised. She agreed to a tracker to be put into her cellphone, iPod, and a charm bracelet in case she had forgotten one of the other two items. The charm bracelet also had a panic button on one of the charms.

That had put him a little at ease but he still worried a lot and would panic when she didn't answer her phone right away. He still followed her through the air ducts though and Tasha would still follow her sometimes because nobody else was able to do that quite like Tasha did. He suspected that she knew but she never brought it up which he was thankful for because even with the trackers and panic button he was still paranoid. The people who had held them were still loose and he was terrified that they would kidnap her and finish what they had started.

He knew she still worried about it too even though she would put on a brave face and act like she didn't care but he knew she did. He could see it in the way she acted sometimes when someone she didn't know would accidently touch her or just look at her a certain way. He could tell in the way she carried herself when she thought she was alone or nobody was watching. She was still herself though most of the time. She still snarked with him and Tony. She still had a smile on her face most of the time and still just as energetic and happy. Sometimes he would be watching her though and he could see the dark thoughts and sadness come swooping in.

When that happened, he wanted nothing more than to bring the smile back to her face and make her happy. He wanted to take away everything that had happened to her for those three god awful days. But he couldn't. He knew that was going to be with them for the rest of their lives and that nothing would really be the same. The only good change that had happened is that their love for each other had become even stronger and he hadn't realized that was even possible. He had already been to the point with how much he loved her that he thought his heart was going to explode. He had obviously been proven wrong he just wished it had happened a different way.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Darcy started shaking again. He ran his hand through her hair and down her back and she instantly went still and cuddled closer to him. He let the warmth that was coming off of her lull him back to sleep.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

_Six months ago…_

Clint and Darcy had been out of the tower for their usual date night they had once a week. Well, they tried to make it once a week but sometimes work would get in the way. Usually it was in the form of some villain trying to take over the world. They would sometimes still go out a day or two later depending on what kind of shape he was in but even if he couldn't go out because of his injuries, they would just have a date night in their room.

Clint was still amazed that he and Darcy had been together for almost two years. It was the longest any of his relationships had lasted. It had also been the first time he hadn't freaked out and broke things off when they had started to get serious. It was probably one of the best decisions of his life when he had finally asked Darcy out after months of them dancing around each other. Plus it kind of helped that he noticed one of the other lab assistants eyeing Darcy.

It would have probably happened sooner if he hadn't been concerned with the whole age thing and the SHEILD thing. Not to mention the super hero thing also; which kind of went with the SHEILD thing too he supposed.

But now here they were almost two years later. "So where are we going tonight?" Clint asked since it was her turn to choose what they were doing.

Darcy smirked at him. "You'll just have to wait and see." Clint was about to start guessing when he realized someone was following them. He tightened his grip on Darcy preparing to launch her away from him and turn around. Before he could turn around though, they were ambushed. He felt something being jabbed in the side of his neck and then blackness quickly claimed him.

Clint came to in a little room. It looked like an interrogation room. There was a one-way window in front of him that was currently black and couldn't see what was on the other side. He was still groggy from whatever they drugged him with but he still made a quick assessment of what the situation was. He was alone and tied to a chair. He had no idea who had taken them.

He had no doubt they hadn't just taken him. He knew they had probably taken Darcy too though he had no idea what they had done with her. Panic was slowly starting to settle in. he realized he could easily get out of being tied to the chair and was about to try getting the stupid knots out of the rope they had used to tie him to the chair when the window in front of him became clear. He could see Darcy tied to a table and still knocked out from whatever they had been drugged with. He started really trying to get untied when someone came in from a door behind him and said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Clint felt dread shoot through him when he recognized the voice. He tried turning his head to look at their captor but he was in one of his blind spots. Instead of continuing to try and see the man behind him and went back to watching Darcy through the window. She was just beginning to stir. He could also see the man's reflection on part of the window. He ignored it, just watching Darcy finally open her eyes. He felt a wave of relief for a brief moment that she was at least alright. Well as alright as she could be tied up to a table.

"I see your pretty little girlfriend has finally woken up. Now we can start." Clint finally looked over at his older brother, Barney Barton, who was now standing next to him. At his words he felt more dread course through his body. He had to find a way to get Darcy and him out of here. He tried to start working on the knots in the rope when Barney looked down at him and smiled. "Like I said earlier: I wouldn't do that if I were you", Barney said just as Clint saw someone move in his peripheral vision.

He looked over to the motion and noticed that a man had entered the room with Darcy and was holding a gun to her head. "You see I was originally just going to kill her and take you but then I had a change of heart baby bro." Barney started to smile again as he looked back at Clint. "What I had originally had planned for you I have decided to do to her instead." Clint felt all of the blood drain from his face and his mouth go dry. He had no fucking idea how he was going to get him and Darcy out of here now. But he wasn't going to give up. As he was about to reply to his brother, he started talking again. "She put up quite a fight when we tried to grab her. I believed she elbowed one of my men in the face and broke his nose."

Clint felt a swell of pride in her for that. He and Barney were still staring at each other when they both heard someone yelling and looked back at the window. Darcy had finally become lucid and was yelling at the guy with the gun. Clint couldn't tell what she was saying because her voice was muffled by the mirror but Barney snickered. "She's got a mouth on her, doesn't she?" He then ordered someone to gag her so he was guessing he had some sort of comm because right after he said it, the man in the room with Darcy wrapped a piece of material around her mouth to silence her. Clint hoped the comm shorted and shocked him in his fucking ear.

Clint looked over at Barney and thought he was going to be sick. The look on his face told Clint this was going to be long and probably one of the most horrific things he was ever going to deal with. Barney clapped his hands together.

"Well, now that she is awake and aware shall we begin?"


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Clint thought he could not hate his brother any more than he did at that moment. It was one thing for him to kidnap him but it was another to kidnap his girlfriend and torture her in his place. He supposed he really shouldn't have been surprised though considering all of the other shit that Barney had done before.

"Right, here are the rules: if you look away once, I'll have one of my guys cut off one of her fingers, the second time you do, we'll cut off two more and the third, well then let's just say somebody will be cleaning her brain up off the floor. The same applies if you try to get loose, which I know you can but I figured with her life on the line you won't." Clint could tell he was getting some sick pleasure out of this. He thought he wouldn't have been able to sink any lower but he was obviously wrong. He continued talking, "If you do actually manage to get loose, she will be dead long before you could even get to her. And be rest assured so will you. Now lastly, I don't want you trying to offer yourself in her place. It will do you no good and most definitely will get on my nerves. Understood?"

"Why the fuck are you doing this," Clint yelled. All Barney did was smile at him. If it could even be called that, with the way he had his teeth bared.

"I said do you understand? Don't make me cut off one of her pretty little fingers yet." All Clint could do was stare helplessly at his brother and nod. He wasn't going to give him any answers yet. He was going to try and get answers from him but after thinking about it for a moment; he knew that probably wasn't a good idea. They'd probably cut off one of Darcy's fingers if he tried to get answers from Barney. He would tell him when he was good and ready and Clint had no idea when that would be.

Clint went back to staring at Darcy through the window. He heard his brother say something into his comm but he wasn't paying attention. He was too busy worrying about Darcy and hoping that his teammates would figure out what was going on and come and get them the fuck out of here.

He stiffened when he saw another man enter the room with Darcy and the other guy. He was carrying pliers in one of his hands. Nothing good ever came from pliers and he didn't want to even imagine all the things they could do with them. The man started to remove her shoes and then her socks. After he had done that and moved up to her side next to her hand. He stared at her hand for a minute before he attached the pliers to one of her fingernails. Darcy's eyes widened with fear and she began struggle but they had tied her tightly enough that she couldn't move at all. Clint had to watch in horror as the man began to pull her fingernails off, one by one.

Even though she was gagged and there was a window and wall separating them, he could still hear her screams. Once the man was finished with her fingernails he moved on to her toenails. She kept screaming after he was done and the man with the gun punched her in the face knocking her out. He broke her nose and split her lip. Clint wanted to start yelling but thought better of it. All of her fingers and toes were bleeding. Blood trailing down the sides of the table she was strapped to. He had completely forgotten about Barney when he spoke.

"Well I think that is enough for now. I will be back in a couple of hours." And with that he left Clint alone in the room before some other guy with a gun came in to watch him. Making sure he didn't try to escape was his guess. He glared at the man for a second before he looked back to his girlfriend. He wasn't sure how long she was going to last. He had been trained to withstand torture but she hadn't. She had been trained to defend herself but nothing had prepared her for this.

He wasn't sure how long he just sat there staring at her before Barney entered the room again. "Still sleeping I see. We'll just have to fix that." The same man who had pulled her nails from her entered the room with a pale. He walked up to where her head was and dumped what he was guessing cold water over her face. She jerked up right away sputtering and trying to clear the water off of her so she could breathe. After the man put the pale down he pulled out a knife.

"Where do you think he should start baby bro? How about her stomach? Oh, I know, let's start with that pretty face of hers." Obviously he had his comm on still because right after he said that the man crawled onto the table straddling her and looking at her face.

"Let's not damage her face too much. Just a couple of deep cuts so people will still be able to tell who she is when they come to collect the body." At that the man put the knife up against the top of her right cheek and slowly began to pull it down the length of it. Blood began to pour down the side of it mixing in with her tears. The man cut her right next to the other one he had already made. He stared at his work for a second before finally crawling off of her and the table.

He left the room only to return with a branding iron. Clint couldn't tell if it was shaped like something or not but he really didn't care either way. He put it down only to cut off her shirt and pants leaving her clad in her bra and panties. At that point Clint was beginning to get desperate. Where the fuck where his teammates? He honestly didn't give a rat's ass who came to save them; he just wished they would hurry up. He didn't know how much more he could watch and how much more she was going to be able to take.

He watched as the man picked up the branding iron and lit a torch. He watched as it slowly heated up and eventually the metal turned orange. He watched as he put the torch down and lowered the iron to her stomach and held it there. He could still hear he screams through the window and wall. He didn't know what was going to break him first: her muffled screams or watching what they were doing to her.

The net few hours consisted of a mix of knifes, the branding iron, fists, and Darcy's screams. Clint had seriously thought she would have passed out by now but she was proving to be resilient. He could tell she was close to breaking and he wondered even if they did get rescued if she would even survive. The thought of just losing Darcy sent more dread through him and if she did die, he was pretty sure he would be close to follow. He knew he would. He was also filled with anger. A blinding rage.

Throughout all of this Clint hadn't said a word. Not to his brother or even just to talk to himself. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to. The guy in the room finally through his last punch at Darcy and walked out. She looked like a bloody and bruised mess all over her body. He wanted to throw up but couldn't.

"Well, I think that is enough for today. Get some rest. You're going to need it."

Once Barney left the room and the other guy came in he finally broke down and cried.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Clint is slowly losing all hope. He honestly isn't sure if he does have hope left. It had been two days and still no sign of help. He's beginning to think a bullet in the head would be better than letting this continue. They're alone right now. Well as alone as they're going to get with the two guys in their rooms with them.

Clint's watching Darcy. Her breathing is getting shallower by the minute. He can see her struggling to breathe. He's pretty sure she isn't going to make. He sees her take a rattling breath and decides he can't watch anymore. He lets his body slump and his head hangs down. The only thing keeping him from face planting into the floor is him being tied to the chair.

He hears a commotion outside of the door. He doesn't know what's going on and he doesn't care. He's lost all hope. His guard dog leaves the room in a hurry. He doesn't lift his head or try to get out. He knows it's too late. The noise goes on for what seems like forever but he knows it's only been more like 10 minutes. It finally quiets down before the door to his room almost flies off its hinges. He still doesn't look up.

Somebody starts to untie him and when they finally got the knots done he just slumps further down until he lies on the floor. He thinks he hears Natasha's voice telling him he needs to get up and that Darcy needs him. He hears someone else come into the room and forcefully drags him to his feet. He's instantly dizzy from lack of food and water the last few days and sways on his feet. He finally realizes that it was in fact Natasha's voice he was hearing when he hears her start to talk again. He finally looks up.

"Clint, we really need to get going. Stark had JARVIS scan Darcy and he says her breathing is too shallow and her pulse is extremely weak. We need to get her medical attention now." Clint had thought she was dead or a couple of hours away from it. He looks to her room quickly to see Tony lifting her up gently as he can so he doesn't jostle any of her injuries too badly. He must seem like he's still a hopeless cause because Nat slaps him across the face and yells at him to get his shit together.

He actually seems to motivate him to move because he turns around to leave through the door. He finally notices that Steve was in the room with them and was probably the one that picked him up off the ground. "Tony is going to fly Darcy to the Helicarrier so he can get her to medical faster," Steve explains to him as they leave the room. He also tells him that his brother managed to get away before they could capture him. That he high tailed it out of there the second Stark blasted through the wall. He just nods his head.

They meet up with the rest of the team and head out to the Quinjet. He goes to sit in the co-pilot seat but Nat glares at him and he takes one of the seats in the back while Steve takes the co-pilot seat. They tell him they'll arrive in ETA five minutes. He still doesn't say anything to them. He doesn't know if he could if he wanted to. He had thought that they were going to die there and he doesn't even know if they will be able to save Darcy. He still knows that if she doesn't make it then he won't either.

When they finally get there, he suddenly gets a burst of energy and runs to medical. He knows they'll want to look at him too but all he cares about right now is whether or not Darcy is going to make it. A doctor is already there waiting for him. He finally finds he voice to ask, "Is she going to make it and what was damaged?"

The doctor gives him a grave look and begins giving him a list of her injuries. A fractured cheekbone, several broken ribs, broken fingers, internal bleeding, lacerations, burns and swollen brain, that her condition is critical and that she needs emergency surgery and that since he is her medical proxy he needs to tell them if he wants them to do it or not. The rest of the team arrives in time to hear him tell the doctor to do whatever needs to be done. Anything.

The doctor nods his head and takes his leave. Once the doors swish closed he turns around and sits in one of the chairs to wait. The rest of the team follow suit. They all sit in silence. About 30 minutes later Jane comes running into the waiting room. She looks at each of them waiting for someone to tell her what's happening. Finally Steve answers her unspoken question. "Darcy is currently in surgery, her condition is critical, and they're not sure if she's going to make it."

He watches as her eyes start to tear up. She lets out a sob and says "Oh god." Thor gets up to wrap his arms around her and bring her back to his seat. She sits in his lap with his arms still around her sobbing into his chest. He starts to run his fingers through her hair to try to sooth her. Another 30 minutes later and another doctor comes out to tell him that they need to look at him. He's about to tell him to fuck off when he sees half the team glaring at him. So he relents and lets them take him to the back to look over him.

It turns out he is malnourished and dehydrated. He's not surprised. Barney hadn't fed them or gave them water the whole time they were there. He lets them hook him up to an IV to rehydrate him and bring him some food. He's not hungry but he eats a little bit. It doesn't sit right in his stomach so he gives up after a few bites. The doctor comes back into his room.

"When she's out of surgery I want to be moved into her room, even if I'm still hooked up to this thing."

His doctor nods and says that can be arranged. After his doctor leaves he lies back on the cot and stares at the ceiling. He must have fallen asleep because a while later someone is telling him to wake up. He looks around the room with bleary eyes. He doesn't know how long he's been sleeping. He finally notices Darcy's doctor is the one in his room. He starts talking when he finally focuses on him. "Miss Lewis is out of surgery now. She is still in critical condition and on life support. We were able to stop the internal bleeding and relieved the swelling on her brain. We don't know if she has suffered any permanent brain damage. We will not know until she wakes up." Clint nods his head as he listens to the doctor as he keeps talking. "We have also arranged for you to move to Miss Lewis' room while you're still hooked up to your IV. There's an extra hospital cot in there as well."

Clint can't remember when the doctors have been so accommodating. He thinks that Nat probably has something to do with it. He'll have to thank her later. He hops off the bed after the doctor tells him to follow him. He's lucky they had hooked him up to one of the IV poles that have wheels and isn't attached to anything thing else.

They arrive in a room that is a lot bigger than the one he was in and is obviously for patients who are going to be there for a while. After staring around the room his eyes settle on Darcy. She is hooked up to multiple machines with bandages and casts covering just about every part of her body. Clint feels anger swell up in him. He doesn't act on it because he knows it won't really help anything. All he can do for the moment is sit next to her bed holding her hand and hoping to god that she wakes up.


End file.
